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Monday, June 28, 2004

New medical colleges coming up this year: Minister

The State Government is taking steps to start medical colleges in Vellore, Kanyakumari and Theni this academic year itself, the Health Minister, Thalavai Sundaram said.

Talking to newspersons after reviewing the progress of the Government Vellore Medical College Hospital building and the functioning of the hospitals in the district at the Collectorate here on Saturday, Mr. Sundaram said he visited the existing Government Vellore Medical College Hospital (GVMCH), (the erstwhile Government Pentland Hospital) and the new 300-bed medical college hospital building under construction at a cost of Rs. 5 crores at Adukkamparai near here, this morning. Construction would be completed by August 31.

The government had sent petitions to the Medical Council of India (MCI) seeking recognition of the new medical colleges.

The inspection of some of the new colleges by an MCI team was currently going on.

The Minister denied newspaper reports that manpower, including doctors, was being manipulated from other districts and deputed to the new medical college hospitals, in order to meet the MCI norms for recognition at the time of inspection.

Some of the doctors were transferred to the new hospitals, and those who were present at the new hospitals during the MCI inspection were the doctors who reported there on transfer, he said.

When told about the difficulties faced by the patients visiting the diabetes clinic in the Adukkamparai campus of the GVMCH, who were asked to go over to the erstwhile GPH campus for blood test, and visit the campus again to meet the doctor, the Minister said "such shortcomings" would be rectified once the construction was completed.

The Directorate of Medical Education, the Directorate of Medical Services and the Directorate of Primary Health Centres have appointed 552 doctors last year at the medical college hospitals, taluk and non-taluk hospitals and the primary health centres. Committees, comprising the district collector, the joint-director of health services and the deputy directors have been asked to appoint one male and a female doctor in each of the 93 primary health centres, which were upgraded last year.

A sum of Rs. 94.67 crores has been allotted this year for the purchase of medicines, including anti-rabies vaccines, in all government hospitals. While the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation has been asked to call for tenders for supply of medicines, the concerned deans/medical officers of the hospitals have been given powers to buy anti-rabies medicines locally, in the event of shortage and demand exceeding supply, he said. The Dean of the GVMCH, V. Thamizharasi said she has purchased anti-rabies vaccines worth Rs. four lakhs locally this month.